


Of Violin

by IGuessIWriteStuffNow



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Canon Era, F/F, First Meetings, Gay, Kath plays the violin because this is a prompt and i need someone to, Music, Pre-Canon, Violins, and kath, flowery language, girls are great, like a few days before canon, sarah loves music
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-26
Updated: 2017-08-26
Packaged: 2018-12-20 01:01:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11909949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IGuessIWriteStuffNow/pseuds/IGuessIWriteStuffNow
Summary: She paid attention to the chaotic music of the city- the cacophony of horse hooves on concrete, of merchants calling out their wares, of-Of violin.In which Sarah follows the sound of violin to a beautiful girl.





	Of Violin

**Author's Note:**

> well i started this two months ago and only now got around to finishing it  
> its gay  
> i love sarah jacobs  
> also whoops im supposed to be writing that multichapter fic arent i
> 
> btw this is based on one of those weird prompts that just lists stuff: "a shop window, a perfectly tuned violin, a crumpled dollar bill." so all of those are incorporated.

The weight of her basket was heavy on Sarah’s wrist as she walked home from the market. Her feet tapped over the dusty cobblestone, the sound lost to the chaos of the Saturday bustle. The New York City streets were crowded and muggy as they had been nearly every day that summer. She paid attention to the chaotic music of the city- the cacophony of the sounds of horse hooves on concrete, of merchants calling out their wares, of-

Of violin.

Growing up, Sarah’s parents had always mentioned that, if they were to ever come into money, they would spend it on immersing their children in art culture. That being said, they never actually _had_ the money, but whenever they heard of free art shows, plays, or concerts, it was a priority to attend. Sarah fell in love with music and tried to find it where she could. Despite her preference for instrumental pieces, she found solace in any type of music, and often would urge her brother to sing when she was around (Davey had an amazing voice, even if he himself would fail to admit it). She would find street performers and visit music schools in her free time, anything she could to hear more of infinite collections of melodies and instrument could produce. Her hours spent listening gave her a supply of knowledge vast enough that she could immediately recognize the sounds of most string instruments. Including the violin.

She knew of the instrument shop two blocks from the marketplace- it was a slightly more high-end area and she never had an excuse to go. But the long route she had taken that day led her towards it, to where she could just hear the soft sound of a bow dancing over strings.

She had to investigate.

The shop window looked as it always had: clear glass behind which a collection of impossibly expensive instruments seemed untouchable. With the knuckles of one finger white as she clutched the wicker handle, she pushed open the door with the other. The moment she entered, she could feel the glares of the staff and customers and practically hear their thoughts. _She doesn’t belong here_. But the music was far louder than glares.

It flooded her ears, gentle notes crescendoing and dipping and seeming to cascade over the open air. Sarah followed it, entranced, as it grew louder and louder until she was close enough to hear it at its loudest. And then she walked a bit more, until she turned a corner and a figure made itself clear.

The most beautiful girl Sarah had ever seen was playing the most beautiful music she’d ever heard.

Had she not been completely enchanted before, she certainly was as she watched the other girl play. Long, slender fingers darting over the frets as the other hand wielded a bow like a sword delivering blows in the form of breathtaking melody. Puffs of air passed through slightly parted, pink lips and dark eyelashes brushed over the skin of the musician’s cheek. Sarah wondered how she looked, gaping at this goddess as she played, clearly out of place with her subpar attire. But she couldn’t bring herself to care in the moment.

The music slowed and decrescendoed, the bow dancing over two strings in an increasingly lighter set of motion until the music had been lost completely to the air. The young woman’s eyes fluttered open and Sarah’s eyes met those of the girl's, probably the most beautiful pair she’d ever seen. The dark brown irises were speckled with gold when they hit the sunlight.

They held eye contact for seven, eight, nine seconds, before Sarah realized she was almost definitely creepy for maintaining her gaze so long. She looked away and stuttered out an apology: “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare.”

The other girl broke out in a smile that seemed more of a reflex than a genuine expression. “It’s no issue.” She held out the violin to Sarah. “Were you looking to try it? Or,” She gestured behind her. “Look at something over here? I’m probably in your way. I’m sorry. I just tend to get distracted when I’m playing.”

Sarah raised her hands so her palms were facing the girl. “No, I’m not… I don’t play.” The young woman frowned and returned the violin to its stand. “I just thought your playing was… beautiful.” Sarah’s words brought out a soft pink tinge in the other girl’s cheeks. Sarah reached into the pocket of the fabric tied around her waist, fingers fumbling over keys and miscellaneous papers, looking for any coins she could give the girl. Her hands met with nothing but a crumpled dollar bill. Surely her mother would kill her for giving away a whole dollar away to a pretty stranger, especially considering her father’s recent unemployment. But she had to do _something_ for the young woman. “I want to give you some money,” she continued. “For the playing. But all I have is a dollar- and you deserve even more than that, of course- but my mama wouldn’t be pleased if I-”

The woman laughed and covered her mouth with her hand. The real smile paired with the way her eyebrows scrunched together with amusement was enchanting. “Please, don’t feel obliged. I’m not playing for money- just to practice. My father insists on me playing more frequently and I can hardly get out of the house if he doesn’t believe I’m doing something he would consider productive. Hence, playing here.”

“What would you be doing, otherwise? Out of the house, that is.”

“Mostly journalism.” Sarah raised her eyebrows. _Female journalist… interesting._ “You don’t have to look so shocked.” She seemed a bit defensive, now. Sarah could hardly imagine the backlash she got in the industry and couldn’t wait to reassure her that she would get none of that from Sarah. “I know it’s uncommon.”

“I wasn’t going to say that.” Sarah looked up at her through dark eyelashes. “I was just going to say that that’s amazing.” 

“I-” The blush had returned to the young woman’s face. “It’s not much. I hardly get to cover anything important. Most of my work comes from the social pages.”

“Still very impressive.” The corner of her mouth quirked up. “Sarah. Is my name. By the way.”

“Katherine. You can call me Kath, though, if you would prefer.” She took Sarah’s outstretched hand and shook it. “It’s lovely to meet someone so impressed by my music as to watch me from the corner of the store.”

And then Sarah blushed. “I’m sorry, that was probably odd.” 

“Don’t worry, Sarah. I was joking.” Katherine began putting on her coat. It was a fuchsia shade and very high quality. Clearly, she was in no need of Sarah’s dollar. “I’m probably going to head out now. Do you have plans on staying?”

“I have no real reason to. And I think the staff is giving me dirty looks.”

Kath walked up to Sarah and reached out her elbow for Sarah to hook hers around. “Just stay with me. They respect my father and won’t question you.”

“Thanks.” They shared a smile and a warmth blossomed in Sarah’s stomach.

The warm summer air seemed to cling to Sarah’s skin as they left the store. Oddly enough, despite the warmth of contact, the space where Katherine’s arm met hers seemed the least uncomfortable. “So, _Sarah_ -” She whispered her name like it had a certain meaning known by only the two of them. “Where are you headed?”

“Home,” She answered, lifting the arm still holding the basket. “Mama just sent me out to get food from the market.”

“And what way is that?”

“Down that street, and to the left,” she answered, pointing towards the rows of tenements.

Katherine hummed, frowning. “Any other day, I would offer to walk you, but my house is in the opposite direction-”

“I understand.” Sarah hadn’t expected her to accompany her, anyway, and the fact that Katherine had even been considering it- “Maybe another time? I would love to hear more about your writing, if we had the chance.”

“Well, Sarah, I love stories, and I’d love to hear yours.” She paused. “Here,” she continued, pulling a pad of paper and a pen out of her inner jacket pocket and scribbling cursive letters over the page, before ripping it out and handing it to Sarah. “My address. Write me sometime, and we’ll arrange a meeting so we can talk more?”

Sarah smiled and immediately committed the street name and number to her memory. “Yes, yes- that sounds great.” All of her friends had always been of convenience: neighbors and fellow students and women at her factory. Never had she had someone offer so plainly a relationship based on anything more than proximity. She felt her smile grow wider.

“Great.” Katherine reached out to take Sarah’s hand and squeezed it once before letting go. “I’ll see you soon, then?”

“Very soon, I hope.”

Katherine nodded, then turned to walk away. Sarah mirrored the motion, but hardly took three steps before she was interrupted. “Sarah, wait.” She turned, eyes once again meeting the shining iris’ of the violinist. “Just…” Kath hesitated, for a moment, before continuing. “Thank you.”

Sarah’s eyebrow’s furrowed. “For what?”

“Listening, talking, just… everything.”

Sarah laughed under her breath and shook her head. “Thank you, too, then. For protecting me from the judgmental salespeople.”

Katherine giggled. “We’re good for each other, then?”

“Seems we are.”

**Author's Note:**

> why is kath playing a violin in a store when she clearly has her own that she could take out to play/when she could do conceivably anything else outside her home that her father would approve of? Because the prompt, okay?
> 
> this ends suddenly and yeah maybe ill finish it someday but basically i imagine this taking place about a week or so before the beginning of the musical, and kath and sarah send each other maybe one letter each, before Kath visits davey's home (for strike matters) and sees sarah and they talk and fall in love etc etc
> 
> anyway i wont have wifi for the next ten days so i may not be able to post/update anything, unfortunately.  
> Love you all, have a nice night, and please let me know your thoughts! :)


End file.
